Green Chicken Curry with Eggplant (Gaeng Puang Kai)

Ingredients :

500g chicken thigh fillets (tenderloins), trimmed of any fat and skin

4 tbsp coconut cream

3 tbsp green curry paste

60g Thai eggplant or fresh green peas

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar

salt, to taste

625ml pint coconut milk

a few kaffir lime leaves, torn

a few sweet basil leaves

Method :

Cut each chicken thigh into 4 pieces. Heat the coconut cream in a large saucepan over a medium heat until the oil starts to separate from the cream. Add the green curry paste and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken. Cook, stirring for 10-12 minutes, until the chicken is well coated with the paste and is about half cooked. Add the eggplant or green peas, fish sauce, sugar and salt. Cook, still stirring for 5-7 more minutes. Add the coconut milk, reduce the heat to low and stir for 8-10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. Check the seasoning and adjust with salt if necessary. Add the lime and basil leaves. Serve hot with rice.

One of the most famous of Thai dishes, green curry works extremely well with chicken, but can also be used with red meats. Thai eggplants are very small and grow in clusters. There is really no substitute for them, although green peas can be used instead for a similar visual effect. If you use large eggplants, dice them and leave the skin on.

Serves 4 - 6

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